New York...New York

I had THE most fabulous weekend ever! I didn't realize how much I missed my girls until I made it back to Mass with the hugest smile on my face. I surprised the heck out of Toy (which was my overall objective)...got to spend 2 nights being an honorary roommate with Shardizzle [and Beth]...and was able to enjoy a REAL night life for the first time since I moved out here. It was almost as if nothing had changed from our partying days back in the "H."

I just wanted to send a shout out to my 'lovelies' and thank them for giving me a bit of happiness so that I can survive the next 3 weeks before I go back home for Christmas break (where we will in fact party it up all over again). The last week was by far the worst week I've had in forever. I can't remember the last time I cried so much...and initially I had no idea why I was even crying. I later figured it was merely homesickness, but seeing my girls brought great joy to my life...even if it was only for a mere 2 days.

Oh yeah...big ups to my lil bro who is doing it big in the Ailey program. If anyone wants to fund another trip to NYC in early December that would be great so that I can finally see him perform live in New York. (hint hint)

flying V

When I was a kid, one of my favorite movies was Mighty Ducks. I loved the whole concept of the "flying V" attack when they were about to score a goal...and for the first time in my life I saw a REAL FLYING V!!!!! I kept hearing these loud annoying birds when we were at the track and then they flew over us and were so massive. I knew they were regular crows or black birds that we have in Texas so I asked the head coach and she said they were geese. I started jumping up and down and was so excited. It was AMAZING! They were moving to fast so I couldn't get a picture...but I guess it's true that geese really do fly south for the winter. Now my question is, where exactly do they go...because I've never actually seen geese in Texas, so I'm assuming they don't fly that far south.

T-E-A-M

Yesterday I worked the swim meet - yeah, I know...I'm a track coach. However, I'm a struggling grad student...and I gotta make ends meet some way some how. So anywho...this was the 1st swim meet I've ever attended and while I'm not a fan of being so close to the pool and getting splashed every time someone jumped in, I had a really good time.

The one thing that stood out to me above all was that Smith women competed as a TEAM in what many people would consider an individual sport. Everyone cheered for each other, even if the last place person was a cool 4 laps behind the second to last place person. No matter what place you came in, the coach provided words of wisdom and made each woman feel like she had won the race. For me this was huge because coming from track (which is also considered an individual sport), this type of treatment is not always observed. Back at Rice, it was not a requirement to attend the entire meet. In fact it was somewhat discouraged in that you only needed to show up 1 1/2 hours before your event. For me this always meant I got to see the whole meet because long jump is almost always the first field event. But the majority of my teammates never once saw me compete. I wonder how much better might I have been had I had someone cheering for me on the sidelines. I don't think people realize how you can receive a sudden burst of energy when you hear someone scream your name....or just simply show they care by making themselves visible.

I truly value the idea of a TEAM, and I wish I could instill that into every athlete I know. I was really moved to see a girl who might not be up to standard to compete at the collegiate level, get out of the pool with a smile on her face because she knew that as long as she gave it her best...she had 100% of her TEAM behind her. I can only hope that one day my team will have that same support system.

random ramblings...

Have you ever been so excited about something and wanted to relay your experience and then once you find someone that you hope would share in your sentiment, you immediately feel shot down? Yeah...that's pretty much how I feel right now. It was a quite simple idea that I wanted to share, but it was clear to me that the other person didn't quite have the same feelings as I did. It really kinda hurt my heart...more so that I think it should, especially because it is not a personal experience but simply something that I witnessed and was moved by.

This makes me wonder if I should just keep my thoughts to myself...but then that would be defeating the purpose of enhancing my communication skills. However in the same right, if I'm going to feel like what I might say may not matter to anyone else, then just why should I say it?

How I feel right now is a feeling that I know I often give to others. Sometimes I'm so disinterested, that I have the most indifferent attitude about things...which I know makes people wonder why they even come talk to me about stuff. So I guess before I get all upset about my feelings, I should consider how I make others feel when I'm really just not that interested in what they have to say.

***This post just turned into a total ramble...but sometimes when I don't have anyone to talk to, I have to write to get things off of my mind. At least on here I don't have to worry about the computer showing emotion to what I have to say. (lol)

INSPIRED...

So this past Thursday we had another day out of class...I have to say I love these random holidays that Smith gives its students - First mountain day and now Otelia Cromwell Day. Mountain day is merely some random day when the president decides that the weather is beautiful and all the girls should go into the mountains and play...although this year the weather sucked. Otelia Cromwell day is a celebration of the first African American graduate of Smith College. This year we had a host of events - a panel speaking covering the topic "Dialogue across Culture" with two amazing women, Majora Carter and Luma Mufleh, and some other topic speakers such as "understanding white privilege." I had the pleasure of attending the panel speaking and although I have heard the story of Luma Mufleh many times before throughout class this semester, I was even more inspired seeing her in person both in the panel and in class for a more intimate discussion this morning. Her story is amazing.




After meeting her today I realized that she is truly a phenomenal woman. She is humble in character, and she believes in everything she does. As a coach, I admire her and I aspire to have the impact on just one person's life as she has in the lives of all her athletes. In my philosophy and ethics class we had to write what we considered our personal coaching philosophy to be. I thought I would attach an excerpt from what I wrote:

"When I think of myself as a coach, I envision myself being a mentor, teacher, role model and friend to each and every one of my athletes. Coaching is more than just being a leader of a team. To me it is developing the whole athlete both on and off the court. It is helping and teaching the athlete the rules of the sport as well as in life. I look to be an inspiration to my athletes and not someone who simply acts as a dictator everyday. I want to be able to provide hope that with hard work and belief in oneself, most anything can happen. It is not always about having the most talent, but sometimes about having the biggest heart and the want to achieve greatness. I love my sport and I want to share that love with my athletes. I am in this to teach what I know to make my athletes the best that they can be."

In the coming years my philosophy may change but this is what I stand by now. Just as Luma has inspired her kids as well as myself, I want to have that impact on others. I guess it's safe to say I want to change the world...so I'll start one person at a time and I'll use the one thing that has been a constant in my life since as far back as I can remember...track and field.

please DON'T call me coach...simply Lacee' will do

So THIS is my first picture as an official coach. YES I look like a total loser...YES I am extremely bundled up...and YES I am sitting instead of studiously standing and paying attention. However, in my defense, it was a whooping 30 something degrees outside that day. It took the 25min drive home, and 15min in the shower for my toes to finally come back to life. I was sitting because I had already been at practice for a cool 2 hours by the time this picture had been taken. I come out early EVERYDAY to accommodate one of my athlete's work schedule so I'm typically at the track for at least 3 hours everyday (well longer than any other person - be it athlete/coach on the team)...and I'm sorry but I DO NOT work in customer service so I have to get used to this standing on my feet shenanigans.

One week of practice down, and I am soooo incredibly happy that I picked this profession. I'm in love ALREADY. I look forward to practice EVERYDAY and so far I have left each day with a smile on my face. My team, contrary to what I came into the season believing, has a level of discipline that I never expected. They are just as dedicated to improvement as any scholarship athlete and I absolutely love to see that they are willing to work to be the best that their abilities allow. Needless to say...I think I've found where my true passion in life lies. I miss competing like crazy, but I love being able to make a difference in other people's lives. Maybe one day I'll be able to find a nice balance between the two...only time will tell.